Stop-watch



' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. TIXIER.

STOP WATCH.

Reissued Aug. 17, 1886.

' UNITED" STATES PATENT ()iuucn.

' JonN TIXIER, or SAN FRANCISCO, oALiFonxL-t STOP-WATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Reissued Letters Patent No. 10,756, dated August 17, 1886.

Original No. 333,792, dated January 5, 1886. A pplicalion for reissnel lvd March l, 12:136. Serial No. lDILGfS.

To all whom) it may concern:

lie itknown that l', J'onN TIXIER, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvementin Stop-Watches; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

and arranged" that I' am enabled to dispense with a number of the wheels and springs which are ordinarily used in this class of mechanism.

Referring to the accompanying drawings ,for a more complete explanation of my invention, Figurel is an enlarged plan view showing the'mechanism from the rear. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the winding mechanism from the front with the dial removed and the hands in place. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section showing mechanism of the portion with the hand at 60. Fig. 4 shows a vertical transverse section of these parts when running, Fig. 5 is a similar section showing positions of parts when the hand is stopped. Fig. 6 is'an enlarged view of the parts separated, which are shown in section in Fig. 3. Figs. 7 and S are enlarged views of the heart and end of bar N. Fig. dis a perspective of the stop mechanism. Fig. 10 is a sectional view showing the parts illustrated in Fig. 6

in position on the central staff, a.

In the construction of stop watches the mechanism between the going parts of the watch and the independent hand, which is used as a timer, usually consists of a train of gearing with a device by which it may be thrown into or out of action at will. The friction caused by the running of this extra mechanism interferes with the'regular running of the watch, (to which the stop mechanism is ordinarily connected;) and the object of my invention is to so reduce the parts as to simplify the construction and reduce the friction to a minimum. In order to do this I employ a central staff which has the ti ming-hand fixed to it; also a heart-shaped cam by which the scribe.

the staff or to be thrown out of action at will.

This mechanism I' will now proceed lo de A and B are the two plates of the watch held together by pillars and screws (1, I), and E. The barrel F gears with the pinion H, and this again with the wheels, as shown.

K is the anchor, and -l) the balance wheel, these parts not dil'l'eiri n g material] y from those shown in other watches with second-wheel in the center.

a is the central stall, upon the pivot i of which the center seconds-hand is fixed. The heart 0 is seen red to the stall.

g is a wheel and pinion turning loosely around the stail'and held in place by the roller h. 4 e v e is a sleeve or roller turning loosely upon i the staff a, one end being close to the heart b, and the other end is close to the pinion g.

d is a small barrel,which fits loosely around the roller 0, and has a spiral coiled spring, e, within it.

f is a dislqor what I terma barrehcovcr, which fits the roller 0, and which is forced into contact with the end of the pinion g by theaction of the spring e. It will be seen that ifthe spring 0 is removed, all the parts 0, (1,), and 9 upon the stafi (6 will turn freely, the heart I) and the roller h being the only parts besides thcseeonds-hand which are fixed tothe staff. Under these conditions the wheel and pinion 9 may revolve freely about the staif a without moving it or the hand which is attached to it. it, however, the spring e be allowed to expand lengthwise, it presses the end of the barrel d against the heart I) and also presses the disk or cover f against the end of 5 the pinion g, thus producing a suflicient friction by tightening these parts together, so that the wheel and pinion will act to drive the staff and the timing-hand.

\V and X are two levers, the inner ends of [00 which are forked so that the fork of the lever W rests upon .the top of the flange shown on -2 ioxiss barrel and the fork of the lever X estends below the disk or barrel-cover f. These two levers are pressed apart by a curved spring,

tending downward from it.

Z, so that when not otherwise actuated they do not press the spring 0 together, but allow it to act upon the barrel d and diskf, as be fore described, pressing them against the heart and the end of the pinion g and causing sullieicnt friction, so that the movement of the pinion will be transmitted to the staff. When it isdesired to stopthe-stai'f and the hand, which is driven by it, it is done by the action of a double wheel, 1 1", fixed upon a staff and having five teeth above and fifteen below. pusher, S, acting through the cnrvedlever B and the click or pawl Q, the lever being fastened to the bottom of the plate A by a pivotscrew.

1 is a spring, which presses upon the pawl or click and the lever B.

U is a spring that acts upon a ratchet wheel. The outer end ofthe lever-arms \V and X extend above and below the teeth P, so that when this wheel revolves these teeth pass be tween the-outer ends of these two-levers, as .plainly shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. The upper lever, \V, has 0. lug or projection, 0, ex-

The lower lever, X, has a lug, 11, which is wider than the lug a, and the teeth P are beveled, as shown in Fi s. 3, 4, and 5, so that they are longer upon the bottom than upon the top.

N is a lever having one end pivoted near the toothed wheel P, and the opposite end is formed with three points or teeth, which press against the edge of the heart b,- this lever beextends between the teeth of the wheel P when the opposite end of the lever is resting 'ainst the heart, but when the lever 1 is turned around by the action. ofthe pusher S and lever 1%, and the click or pawl Qand ratchet, a tooth of the wheel P will press upon the projection on the lever N and force it outward, so that it will rest upon the top of a tooth, .thus moving the opposite end of the lever away from 'thelheart, leaving the heart and stalt free-to rotate. The action of this device will then be as follows: Starting with the parts in such aposition that the spring 6 is expanded, so that all the parts on the statf a are caused to rotate together by frictional pressure, the center seconds-hand will indicate divisions of time to one-fifth of a second. If the pusher S be now pushed inward, it acts through the lever B. and pawl Q to turn the ratchet-wheel barrel-coverf, so that the latter is out of con tact with the pinion g. This allows the pinion to turn loosely upon the stall, and the latter immediately stops, as shown in Fig. 5. When These two wheels are operated by a the pusher S is pressed the second time, the

projection n of the forked lever X will slide along on the toothed wheel '1 without changing the position of its lever; but the projection 0 of the fork W will bebroug-ht on top of the toothed wheel P, so that the opposite or forked end of the lever \V will press the barrcl dtoward the cover or disk f, and the staff a will then be entirely free. At this moment the lugon the lever N will fall between two of the teeth I, and the spring acting upon the lever forces its toothed end against the heart b, thus turning it around so as to bring the hand back to 60, or the starting-point, as shown in Figs. 3and l. WVhcn the pusher is pressed a third time, the lever N will again be forced back, as is more plainly shown in Fig. 9, thus leaving the heart free, and at the same time the two lugs 0 and n on the forks of the le-.

vcrsWand X will fall between two of the teeth of the wheel P, as shown in Fig. 4. By

this action the forked ends of the levers are separated, so as not to press on either of the springs which are necessary to stop the movement or play between the teeth of the gears and in the pivot-holes. I obtain more precision in the hand which showsthe seconds, and less cause for stopping in the movement. The end of the lever N being formed in three points, as before described, the middle one corresponds with the central pivot of the stall", which carries the heart, and presses upon the heart, guiding it while turning-around, as shown in Fig. 8. When the heart has reached the point which brings the hand to its startingpoint or (30,the two outside teeth press upon each side of the head, thus holding it very steady, while the middle tooth is opposite the depression in the head of the heart and does not touch it, as shown in Fig. 7.

In some cases it may be found advisable to omit the loose roller 0 upon the staff a, as it is not indispensable, and the small barrel d and eoverf might be replaced by one or two springs or devices, against which the spring 8 could press. placed by springs and levers, which work on the side of the toothed wheeled I in the same manner as the lever N; but these changes are simply mechanical, and will be well understood by any one conversant with the art, as

number of wheels with small teeth, and also IIO The forks W and X might also be rethey do not essentially, alter the action of my F apparatus.

Having thus described myinventiomwhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a stop watch, the independent stall, seconds-hand and returning-heart and having having the seconds-hand and the returning- 1 the driving-pinion turning loosely upon it, the

heart secured o it. thedriving-pinion turning loosely upon it. a longitudinally expanding springwith collars upon each side, which are pressed against the heart and the driving-pinion, so as to set the staff and hand in motion, substantial] y as herein described.

2. ln astop-watch,the central stail'havingthe seconds-hand and the returning-heart secured to it. the driving-pinion turning looscly about it, a spring actinglongitudinally between collars so as to force them in contact, respect ivel y, with the driving-pinion and the cam. in combination with levers fnlcrumcd so that their ends press upon the outer faces of the collars and force them together against the tension of the spring and out of contact with the pinion and heart. substantially as herein described.

3. In a stop-watch, the stail' carrying the independent seconds-hand and returning-heart and having the driving-pinion turning loosely upon it, the longitudinallyexpanding spring,

and the collars between which it acts, in com bination with levers fulcrnnied so that at one end they extend outside of the collars and at the opposite end they are moved to or from each other, substantially as herein described.

4. In a stop watch, the staff carryingthe longitndinally-expandingspring, collars, and operating-levers \V and X, having lugs or projections 0 and n,as shown, in combination with the wheel having teeth P, beveled or inclined so as to pass between the lugs, substantially as herein described.

5. In a stop -watch, the staff carrying the seconds-hand and returning-heart and having the d riving-pinion turning loosely upon it, the longitudinally-expanding spring, and the friet-ion-collars, the lovers, and toothed wheel by which these collars are compressed or allowed to expand, as shown, in combination with the lever It, disk, and ratchet-wheel, substantially as herein described. Y

6. In a stop-watch, and in combination with the independent seconds-hand, stall, and the heart-shaped returningcaln, the lcvcrN, having the end which presses upon the cam formed with points and curves to lit the curves of the 'heart, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hertmnto set my hand.

JOHN TIXIER. \Vi tnesses:

H. 'ltxnm, J. H. BLooD. 

